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Nyemudzai Kakore Herald Correspondent
Zanu-PF legislators will lobby for civil servants to be paid their end of year bonuses on time once the 4th Session of the Eight Parliament opens, party Chief Whip Cde Lovemore Matuke said yesterday. Cde Matuke said the party’s caucus raised concern over the issue and agreed that Government should devise ways to ensure the bonuses were paid on time.

He said Zanu-PF legislators wanted to advocate better conditions of service for Government workers. “As parliament and the party’s caucus, we have the right to interrogate the Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review Statement.

“It is open for discussion hence we are going to defend the civil servants. They belong to our constituencies and these are the people that we represent on a daily basis,” said Cde Matuke.

“As a party, we do not work towards shrinking the economy, we work towards growing the economy. We should find ways to boost sectors such as mining, agriculture and tourism to produce more.

“Civil servants’ salaries should not be an issue. We should find other means of reducing Government expenditure. There is need for industry capacitation for revenue inflows. We need to focus on growing the economy so that we meet the costs,” he said.

The party’s caucus was triggered by Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa’s Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review statement. Minister Chinamasa said civil servants’ bonuses would be suspended for two years, while their salaries and allowances would be reduced as part of measures to grow the economy.

However, Government rescinded the decision and reassured civil servants that they would receive their traditional annual bonuses and that there would be no reduction of their salaries and allowances. The civil servants later demanded to have the commitment put in writing.

Said Cde Matuke, “We are not attacking Minister Chinamasa, we are simply saying that we are together with the rest of the people that are suffering. We can’t take the few dollars from the people that are suffering already,” he said. Meanwhile Cde Matuke said Government should recognise the role of farmers in food security.

“To encourage the farmers to go back to the fields, they should recover the costs. We will take a party position to make sure that the prices should be favourable to cover the costs,” he said.